(CEHURDES/IFEX) – CEHURDES has condemned the acts of intimidation and threats against a group of journalists by Maoist cadres in the Nepali capital, Kathmandu. On 28 April 2006, Maoist cadres aggressively questioned, threatened and harassed Kumar Shrestha, a photo-journalist with Himalayan Films Pvt. Ltd., Amit Sthapit of “Yuva Hunkaar” and Bimal Raj Gautam, Shrestha’s assistant, […]
(CEHURDES/IFEX) – CEHURDES has condemned the acts of intimidation and threats against a group of journalists by Maoist cadres in the Nepali capital, Kathmandu.
On 28 April 2006, Maoist cadres aggressively questioned, threatened and harassed Kumar Shrestha, a photo-journalist with Himalayan Films Pvt. Ltd., Amit Sthapit of “Yuva Hunkaar” and Bimal Raj Gautam, Shrestha’s assistant, as they were covering a mass meeting organized under the banner of the “United Democratic Front” at Shahid Mancha, Tundikhel, in Kathmandu.
Lekhnath Neupane, who is the president of the Maoist-affiliated student body All Nepal National Free Students Union (ANNFSU-Revolutionary), and Shalik Ram Jamarkattel, chairman of a Maoist-affiliated trade union, appeared for the first time in more than three years in Kathmandu and addressed the gathering.
According to Shrestha, the Maoist cadres forced him and the other two journalists towards the back of the Open Theatre and started questioning them regarding their affiliations. They accused them of spying on the Maoist leaders for the Royal Nepalese Army. They continued to manhandle, abuse and threaten the journalists, despite being shown the journalists’ photo identification documents.
Shrestha was questioned in an intimidating manner for over two hours. The Maoist cadres searched his body, deleted his footage and warned him of dire consequences. “It was a nightmare,” said Shrestha, who also contributes to Nepalnews.com and Himal Media, and has also worked with the BBC. “I have visited Maoist strongholds, including Rolpa, in the past. But nowhere I was treated so badly,” he added.
In a statement issued on 30 April, the Federation of Nepalese Journalists (FNJ) said, “When the FNJ talked to the president of the students’ union, Lekhnath Neupane, he said that they were interrogated because the union members couldn’t recognize them.”
Commenting on the incident, “Himal Southasian” magazine editor Kanak Mani Dixit said, “The Maoists have to learn very quickly to operate in an open society where media is free and professional.”
Condemning the incident, Nepalnews.com editor Bhagirath Yogi said, “Such an act is simply unacceptable. At a time when the media, civil society and the entire population of Nepal are lending helping hands for the safe-landing of the decade-old insurgency, the Maoists must prove that they are worthy to operate in a free and civilized society.” He added that the mistreatment and intimidation of a photojournalist at a public function in the heart of the capital shows the extent of threats Nepali journalists are facing, both at the hands of the state as well as the rebels.
Shrestha was hit with a bullet in his arm while he was covering the pro-democracy movement in Kathmandu on 11 April. He is back working in the Kathmandu streets with the rubber bullet still in his arm.
CEHURDES condemns the Maoist cadre’s threats against Shrestha and the two other journalists and calls upon the Maoist leadership to probe into the incident and punish the guilty.
As the Maoists are coming out in the open thanks to the people’s movement’s activities in 2006, CEHURDES has urged the rebels not to repeat their past mistakes of harassing, abducting and even killing journalists.
CEHURDES strongly believes that freedom of expression is the cornerstone of an open society, which the Maoists must respect if they want to join the political mainstream.
